


Next Door Nightmare

by Amiteva3



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Kinda, M/M, Neighbours AU, Steve Rogers Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark is kind of an Asshole, but it's okay he has his reasons, little angst, soft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2020-10-25 23:18:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20732363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amiteva3/pseuds/Amiteva3
Summary: When there's only one hour left until Bucky, San and Natasha come for Bucky's birthday and Steve has forgotten to buy sugar, there's only one thing left to do - go to your asshole arch nemesis slash crush, who also happens to be your neighbor and ask for help.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Steve to buy sugar for Bucky's birthday party there's only one man that can help him - his misterious, handsome, strange neighbour Tony Stark.

Dammit. Sugar. How could he forget the sugar? How can you make a cake without sugar? Steve sighed and looked around one more time, but, just like the first four times, he didn’t see sugar anywhere. And Bucky, Sam and Natasha were coming to celebrate Bucky’s birthday at 7, which was an hour and a half away, so going to the store wouldn’t work.

Steve put his head in his hands and quietly swore. It would have been so much easier if Sam made the cake, like he always did, but _no_ he and Bucky had to get together and now Sam couldn’t _not_ tell his boyfriend about the cake. Don’t get him wrong Steve was glad, he was over the moon, that these two finally got together. God knows they’ve been crushing on each other since the dawn of time. They were happy together, which was enough for Steve.

The man smiled at the thought of his best friends together and happy, then frowned when he remembered how his own love life was….well nonexistent. He felt like a dick for being jealous of his friends but the truth was he was. They both found their soulmate, they found _the one_. Sure he wasn’t the only one single in their group, but Natasha had said she wasn’t looking for anyone and she preferred to not be bound by a relationship. Of course Steve respected and understood her choice but it made him feel even worse cause that meant he was the only one in the group who was still searching. Sure, he’s been in relationships before but nothing too serious. See Steve was a romantic. He believed in soulmates, he believed that some people were meant for each other and no one he’s been with has given him that feeling. Which meant he still hasn’t found his soulmate and that they were still waiting for him _or _that he was going to look his whole life for this special someone and in the end he would become a bitter old man, who never found his love cause he was being too picky.

Steve shook his head and looked at the clock. He saw that almost five minutes have passed while he was thinking. ,,Way to go, Rogers.”

Then suddenly the light bulb above his head lit up. Tony Stark. The mysterious man living down the hall. They've seen each other only a few times despite them living next door since Tony moved in about three years ago.

\----------------------

Their first meeting happened when Steve was coming back from work, tired and annoyed at his boss, when he had stumbled over a box in front of the door next to his. 'Ah, shit!' the blond had almost screamed. Apparently his shitty day _could_ get even shittier. Thanks a lot, universe.

He started pounding on the door until a young man in his twenties came out looking distracted and irked. Steve immediately noticed his big, warm, brown eyes and the little crinkles on his forehead. The mysterious man's hair was ruffled up like he was just waking up. '_Sex hair_' Steve's terrible terrible brain supplied for him. He was pretty short, shorter than him, and thin, but not very thin. 'Just enough to look great.' And okay maybe Steve had a little staring problem, but the man in front of him stared back just as intensely.

'Well, hello there.' now a big smirk was playing on the man's face, eyes full of mischief. Steve was a dead man. 'How can I help you?' He was looking him up and down and that didn't help Steve's case at all. He started blushing bright red and tried to cover it up by coughing and looking very angry. 'Look, sir, I really don't appreciate coming home late from work and hitting my foot on some stupid box you left in the middle of the hallway. So, _please_, if you could will you move your fucking things so people could actually walk around here?' he said through gritted teeth.

He recognised how rude he was and that this really wasn't such a big deal, but right now he didn't care. He just wanted to go home from a long day at work, watch some TV, maybe jerk off to some porn and go to sleep, thank you very much. And now _someone_ was interrupting his plans. When he looked at that someone his eyes looked frightened and he seemed to shrink into himself, but that expression was gone in a second and Steve thought he was imagining things.

'Looks like someone had a rough day today. Don't worry, shoulders, I can make it all better' and then he _winked_ and if Steve's knees went a little week that is nobody's business. How could this one man cause so many different emotions at once? How could Steve want to punch his pretty, stupid, smug face, but also to do just what he was suggesting? ' Oh, how rude of me! I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Tony Stark.' He held out his hand, face never changing.

' Well yes, Stark I believe you really can make it better.' Steve moved closer to him and whispered 'By getting your shit out of the hallway.' It was his turn to smirk as he watched the smug smile dropping from the man's face. As he was slowly walking away he looked behind his shoulder and said 'I'm Steve Rogers by the way. I'm living next door from you' Steve didn't even turn around to look at the man's face when he walked into his apartment.

Later that night when Steve has successfully done all the things he meant to his mind wandered back to that devil, living next door. When he started thinking about it he thought that he might have been a little harsh. Well, maybe even more than a little. Steve was a nice guy. He wasn’t the type to just start yelling at someone for forgetting to put their bag away. The hurt look on Tony’s face flashed across Steve’s mind and he winced. Fuck, he felt awful. What kind of stupid asshole had he been? He had to fix it.

Looking at the clock he saw it was almost 12 o’clock, but something was telling Steve Tony wasn’t one to go to sleep early. He quickly put on some sweatpants, got the box of sweets he was saving for some special occasion and left the apartment. This time when he knocked it took longer for Tony to answer and Steve got worried that he really could be asleep. But when the man opened the door he looked anything but asleep. He was wearing pants and a black tank top that made his shoulders look really good noticed Steve. _Dammit._ His hair was all messed up, again, and his eyes were filled with energy.

‘Uh, Steve, hey how can help you?’ Tony looked very confused as to why Steve would knock on his door at 12 o’clock. ‘ Hey, I just wanted to say sorry. For me- For how I- I was awful to you today.’ Steve’s face was red, while he was stuttering in front of the confused man. Why was this happening to him?

‘I’m sorry I didn’t have anything better at home. Here.’ He handed the box of sweets to Tony. Surprised was one word to describe the man’s face. He said nothing for a good two minutes and Steve started to get worried. You do this for your neighbours right? This was normal. It wasn’t because ever since he saw Tony he was feeling weird or because everytime he felt something warm in his belly. It was just a normal thing people do for their neighbours. Right. Right.

‘Thank you, Steve. Really. But you don’t have to apologize, it was all my fault. I can be an asshole, I know.’’ When Steve looked at Tony again there was a big smile on his face and he looked really happy. He wondered why Tony would get so happy over a box of sweets and an apology. Maybe he just liked sweets.

‘No, I really do have to apologize. You may have been a little asshole, but a was the bigger one.’ Steve smiled at him and when he saw Tony laughing he felt a flutter in his stomach. That had nothing to do with the situation. Nope. It was completely unrelated. ‘Yeah you might be right. You were kind of scary.’ They both laughed again and boy Steve had to get out of here right now.

‘Alright, I’m glad we’re okay now, but I really gotta go. So, see you around, I guess?’

‘You bet.’

Steve got home happy and he was in an excellent mood the rest of the night. And if he dreamt of warm brown eyes and ruffled hair when he fell asleep, well that was nobody’s business.

\--------------------------------

After that they’ve seen each other a couple of times, but nothing compared to that first time. One time a letter was wrongly sent to Tony’s apartment instead of Steve’s and one time Steve helped Tony with his numerous shopping bags when he saw him struggling (truly a memorable experience). As time passed Steve felt more and more curious about Tony. Everything about him seemed to contradict itself. He was always having parties, but at the same time he was always working; he looked smart and mature, but at the same time he looked like a scared little boy. One night he listened to AC DC and the other one to Chaikovsky for God’s sake. And Steve, well, he just couldn’t figure him out.

So, the matter in hand - sugar. The blond highly doubted that Tony would even have sugar at his place, but he really had no other options. The store was out of the question and he prefered Tony over his other neighbour Dave who may or may not be doing crack. There was always Patrick from the upper floor, but he was out of town now and even if he wasn’t something was telling Steve that he would go to Tony anyway.

This time Tony opened his door almost immediately. ‘Hey, Steve, what’s up?’ That was another thing, the man already acted like they were old friends, despite only having seen each other a handful times. ‘ I actually need your help. Today is one of my friends’ birthday and I’m making the cake, but I just saw I don’t have any sugar at home.’ Shit that sounded so embarrassing. He felt himself going red. This wouldn’t have happened with Patrick. ‘So I came to ask if you by any chance have any sugar?’

Fortunately Tony didn’t look like he thought it was embarrassing. He was smiling and nodding and he was listening to Steve’s rambling like he had nothing better to do with his day. ‘I think I can help you with that. Stay here, I’ll be back in a sec.’ With that he disappeared somewhere in his apartment.

One of the doors was opened and Steve saw a little bit of what he presumed was the living room. He gathered two things from that. Number one - Tony was rich. Like really rich. That living room looked like nothing he’s ever seen before. From what he could see it was spacious, bigger than his own for sure and everything looked like it costs at least a thousand bucks. Tony looked young like he was in college or just finished college ( like Steve) and Steve didn't know what he did all day but whatever it was it can't be enough to pay for all of this. So, rich parents it seemed.

And the second thing - Tony was some sort of engineer. There were little machines, robots, parts and blueprints scattered all over the floor. And they seemed complicated, not something you just make for a college class.

Before his thoughts could spiral more he heard the sound of footsteps and soon enough Tony was coming with a whole bag of sugar. 'Thanks, but I really don't think I'm gonna need that much sugar.' Tony laughed and shook the bag a little. 'Well, you never know. Making a cake is a very unpredictable undertaking.'

Steve laughed a little awkwardly and went red. Again. Seriously this was starting to get annoying. 'Wait you have made cake before, right?' When he saw Steve's face Tony got all the answers he needed. He laughed again, looked him in the eyes and very seriously said. 'Steve Rogers we're going to make a cake.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guysss! So this is just the second story I'm posting on here so please be kind. This time I have plans and I know where this story is going so yayy it may work. Leave kudos and comments if you liked it pleasee they mean a lot to me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They make the cake guys. And we finally meet Bucky, Sam and Nat!!

That’s how both of them found themselves in the tiny kitchen of Steve’s apartment. ‘Alright so, preheat the oven first, then put the sugar, butter, eggs and flour in a bowl and start stirring.’ Steve looked at him with raised eyebrows. ‘Woah, didn’t realise you’re the chef and I’m just a regular cook. Do I have to remind you that this is my apartment?’

They’ve been together for about ten minutes and already had four little fights, but despite that Steve felt better and so much more relaxed around him than he’s felt in a long time. 

‘Do  _ I _ have to remind you  _ why  _ I’m in your apartment? And why exactly you can’t be the chef? Because, first of all a chef’s hat would suit me way more than it would suit you. And second of all you haven’t got an idea about making cake.’ Tony smirked at him, but there wasn’t real bite behind the words. As far as Steve could tell he was having a good time too. 

‘ I disagree about the hat, but yeah you have a point. But still, you’re gonna help too not just give out orders, okay?’ 

‘Alright, Steve.’ 

They fell into an easy rhythm, exchanging stories and jokes, and yeah they fought a couple times, but even that was fun somehow. Steve didn’t know how to feel about all of that. It has been an hour and he was learning more and more about the man. Tony had graduated MIT early and was now working for a big company as an engineer. Stark didn’t share much, but Steve was good at reading between the lines so he learned that his parents are very rich, but he doesn’t like them very much, especially his father. He learned about his best friend for life, a guy named Rhodey, and about a girl named Pepper, about who he kept talking about. 

Steve couldn’t help, but feel jealous of this Pepper and then feel guilty about it. He had no right feeling that way. He barely knew her. He really liked Tony and he hoped that something might come out of this, but why would a rich man, who graduated from MIT want to have anything to do with a poor guy from Brooklyn, who barely had enough money to get by? Tony was just a nice neighbour helping him make a cake for his friend’s birthday, end of story. What a disappointing ending though.

‘Hellooo, Steveee.’ Steve shook his head and noticed Tony waving his arms in front of his face. He must have been too deep in thought. ‘ Uh, yeah, yeah, sorry, I was thinking. What’s up?’ Tony gave him a funny look, but smiled again and opened the oven. 

‘She’s ready! Our babygirl is finally here and she’s perfect. I told you I know what I’m doing!’ he waved his finger in front of Steve’s face and the latter started laughing. ‘Fine, Jamie Oliver you did it yay. But be warned, now everytime I have to cook something more complicated than pancakes you will be helping me.’ A strange look passed on Tony’s face and Steve wondered if this was too far. It was a joke, but maybe Tony didn’t want to do anything with Steve now that the cake was done. But to his surprise Tony said:

‘I’m counting on it. Cook more complicated things often.’ He smiled and looked at Steve so soft that he suddenly felt too warm for his skin, but the next moment he was back to laughing a jumping around and Steve was left wondering what the hell had just happened. ‘Also you can make pancakes? Sick. Expect me at your door at exactly 9:00 am every Saturday. 

‘Excuse me, are you hearing yourself. That’s just ridiculous.  _ Everybody _ knows that you wake up at  _ at least  _ 10 am on weekends. _ ' _

_ ' _ O, I am I fool! ' Tony dramatically brought his hands to his heart and made a point of looking very upset. 'O, how could I forget the sacred double digit rule! Forgive me if you can.' 

'Okay, Shakespeare, calm down,' Steve still tried to keep it together even through the obvious tears of laughter he had in his eyes. He had a sudden thought that made him blush again, but seeing as he was already this far in he was going to give it a shot.'Are you busy right now? If not will you, maybe, help me set the place up for when my friends arrive? If it's too much or you have other stuff it's alright.' Smooth. 

'I- You know what fine. I don't have anything important to do. I can help you.' And then he smiled at Steve, that smile that  _ should _ be cheesy and  _ should  _ be something Steve doesn't pay attention to but instead it's  _ something.  _ It's late night in the woods, it's the vast ocean, it's the big, mysterious space and the more Steve thinks about it the more he realises it's  _ everything. _

'Okay,great then. Will you put these snacks in these bowls over there and then put them on the table. I will go vacuum and then we'll put up that sign. Sounds good?' He was actually nervous about what Tony thought, as if this was some big plan for a meeting, and not just a checklist of chores. 

'Sounds good.' He was already heading to the bowls and Steve, put some earphones in and played 'Shallow' by Lady Gaga. Shut up, he always listened to it when he was cleaning. It had turned into some sort of tradition almost. He turned on the vacuum cleaner, started cleaning and tried very hard not to think about the boy and the smile in the next room. 

When they were finishing up they heard a knock on the front door. Steve immediately got flustered and tried making everything look perfect. Tony chuckled and patted his shoulder. 

'Relax, dude, it's all gonna be fine. Everything looks perfect here. I'm sure your friend will love it.' Even though he was smiling there was something a little sad in his eyes, that Steve didn't understand, so he let it go. 

'Yeah, I hope so.' He headed to the door, Tony behind him. 'Uh, I guess I should-' he pointed the door coughed. 

'Ah, yeah, sorry to kinda kick you out. But I think you understand.'

'Yeah,of course, it's all good.' Steve opened the door and Bucky, Sam and Natasha almost fell on top of him trying to eavesdrop.

'Oh my God, guys, seriously! Children, literal children.' They all started laughing and while no one was looking Tony managed to leave the apartment. 

'Happy Birthday, Buck. Come here, pal.' They hugged and Steve nuzzled his head in the crook of Bucky's neck, just like he's done since they were little. The thing about Bucky is that he was his best friend, the closest person he had, his brother. So it made him really uncomfortable when people always assumed they were a couple. He had never ever thought about Bucky that way, only the thought of it making him shudder.

'I can not believe you're turning 27 today! I'm afraid we'll have to start looking for retirement homes soon.' ‘Oh, shut up, punk.’ They all laughed again and finally went into the apartment. He said hi to Sam and Nat and seated them all in the dining room. They made small talk for a while, catching up and laughing like crazy. Steve felt best like this, surrounded by his best friends in the comfort of his own home, free of all worries. 

Eventually though the question that was in everyone's mind got so big that they couldn't ignore it anymore. 'So, Steve, who was that mysterious man and  _ what _ exactly was he doing in your apartment?' Sam asked, smirk on his face, eyebrow raised. 

'Oh, I knew it would go like this. He's just my neighbour. That's it. And he was just over to chill a little, you know? How neighbour do. They chill together.' He felt stupid and like he was lying to his friends, which was even more stupid. He wasn't lying it was all true. Well, most of it. But he couldn't tell them about the cake. It was too embarrassing. 

'Sure. That's what neighbours do. I'm glad you have such good neighbours. Handsome too.' Damn Natasha and her knowing look and her ability to read people's minds. Seriously Steve was half convinced she was a witch or something. 'Aw, guys look - he's blushing! Poor Stevie has a cruuush.' singsonged Bucky. 

'I assure you, I don't.' He was pursing his lips the way he did when he was trying to hide something or he was lying. 'I feel absolutely nothing towards Tony.'

'Ooh, Tony, huh? Of course you don't Steve we believe you.' There was a chorus of yes' that left Steve shaking his head. 'Great, then let's move on, sound good?' 'Sure'  _ Get out of my mind, Natasha.  _

After a few minutes of silence Steve couldn't keep it inside anymore and blurted out 'Okay, I have a crush on him. Fine, you got me. It wasn't fair, you have Natasha on your side.' 

'I didn't do anything.'

'You didn't have to.' She smirked again grabbed Steve's hand. 'Now, we want to know all about him. Tell us everything.'

So he did. He told them about their first meeting, he told them about the grocery bags, he told them about the wrong letter, and yes he told them about the cake. 'So that's why he was here. Because I couldn't make the stupid cake on my own.'

'Stevie, don't worry, I love it.' Bucky showed that by eating another big bite out of his full plate. 'I think Sam and me did you a favor, don't you think. Without us, you wouldn't have to make the cake and you wouldn't have invited  _ Tony Stark _ here.' He high fived Sam and grinned. 'How poetic - our relationship starting another relationship. We are too powerful.' They kissed, and made sure to make it as graphic as possible just to fuck with Steve and Nat. Or.. just Steve, seeing as Natasha was completely unbothered by everything and was continuing to eat cake. 

'That's ridiculous. No one's starting any new relationships, okay? It's just a crush on my stupid, hot neighbour, I'll get over it. It will go away.'  _ It will _ . 'Now please, everyone, clean up a little so we can play some board games, get drunk and think about everything and anything besides Tony?' 

So they did just that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyy. Hope you like this new chapter guysss. The story's starting out slow I know but i have big plans. As always if you liked it pleaseeeee leave kudos and comments it motivates the shit out of me.


	3. Chapter 3

After that memorable birthday Steve and Tony’s meetings have somehow tripled. They saw each other at least once a week after or before work. One time they used the elevator at the same time and that was simultaneously the worst and best experience of Steve's life. 

He was trying to think as little as he could about Tony and that was the biggest defeat he had ever faced. In the mornings when he was drinking coffee that was the same shade as Tony’s messy hair. At work when he had to draw some science thing that reminded him of Tony. In the evenings when he was watching TV and his mind wandered through space and time. _ Tony, Tony, Tony. _

Look, Steve wasn’t a quitter. That was just not him. Even when he was a 5 foot high school kid he never quit fighting for the little guy (who more often than not was much bigger than him). So he wasn’t gonna back down on this. Steve had expected his little crush to go away, but seeing as that didn’t happen and instead had turned into a big, massive crush he had to do something about it. So Steve did what he always did in crisis situations - he made a plan.

Step 1 was ask Tony out, of course. Everything else depended on his answer after all. He planned it to happen on a Thursday, so he could have time to sort everything out. It wasn't going to be anything big just a knock on the door, a question and a billion screaming voices in his head. Step 2 was finding a good, fancy restaurant, because Tony was probably a fancy man and Steve wasn’t going to embarrass himself. That was going to be a little hard, seeing that he really couldn’t afford the restaurants, where the water was 5 dollars. Blasphemy, really. But he had to somehow, in order to impress Tony. 

Step 3 was picking the right outfit for the date. He might need a little help with that, though. Steve's fashion style was limited to jeans and some plaid shirts. People always told him he looked like he came from the 40s, and while Steve had no problem with that (he was an old fashioned guy by nature) people rarely ment it as a compliment. Natasha might be able to help him. Frankly her fashion style was a little confusing, but she knew what she was doing, which was already better than Steve, Bucky _ or _Sam. 

Step 4 was picking flowers. As he mentioned Steve was an old fashioned fella, who believed that there should always be flowers on a date. It was gonna be hard picking a flower that he knew for sure Tony would like, but Steve felt like that wouldn't be the hardest thing on the list.

And finally step 5 was to chill the fuck out. Steve knew he’d be a ball of nerves and it would be really bad if Tony refuses to go on a date it with him, but it would be _ way worse _if he somehow agreed. So Steve was hyping himself up, working out and drawing, all the things that were calming him down. Until finally at 5pm he figured that he couldn’t put this off any longer and made a move to the door.

But when he opened it he saw none other than Mr Tony Stark himself, looking uncharacteristically insecure and anxious. He was also blushing, Steve noted and he wondered what might get him like this. When Tony saw him his eyes widened and his blush deepened. 

‘Uh, Steve, Steve, heyy. What’s with the rush?’ he was trying to sound teasing and laid-back like his usual self, but there was a strain in his voice and his eyes looked a little panicked. In turn, Steve was also blushing and tense, and desperately trying to cover it up. ‘Well, uh, funny, I was actually going to ask you something, that’s why I was heading out.’ Idiot, idiot, idiot.

‘Oh, cool, cool, what did you want to ask me. Just to tell you I’m out of sugar, so sorry in advance.’ Tony was scratching the back of his head and _ oh God, this was so awkward and totally not a good start. _ So Steve did what anyone would have done in this situation - he blurted out everything. ‘Iwasgonnaaskyouifyouwannagooutonadatewithme.’ he said in one breath and that frankly just left Tony confused as hell. ‘Sorry. What I meant was,’ _ deep breaths _,’ would you like to go on a date with me?’ A huge wave of relief washed over Steve because that was it - he had done his part. It was all up to Tony now, which should be terrifying, but Steve felt calmer and more in more in control. 

Tony looked taken aback which was to be expected considering their history, but then he _ laughed _ and wow. This was _ not _ the response Steve was expecting. Being upset, maybe even being disgusted (although Steve didn't think Tony would react rudely) _ that _ he could somehow take. But for Tony to laugh was completely out of the blue. 

Tony probably saw the hurt look on Steve's face so he quickly composed himself and turned serious. 'Sorry, sorry it's not what you think, I'm not laughing at you. It's just that-' he hesitated for a moment and a little was creeping up on his neck 'I was actually coming to ask you the same thing. That's why I was… here. Yep. I'm sorry again it just seemed very funny to me in the moment and-' 

'It's okay, Tony.' Steve interrupted his babbling laughing. 'Soo, should I take this as a yes then?' When he looked up again Tony's eyes were sparkling and already that was the most beautiful view for Steve. 'You absolutely should take this as a yes.' They kind of stared at each other until Steve cleared his throat and shook his head. 'So, I was thinking this Saturday? I know a great place.' That was a lie. He didn't know a great place. 'That, that sounds good, Steve.' Tony smiled at him, but the smile was so soft, that if Steve hadn't seen it himself he would never believe that the events of their first meeting ever happened. 

'Saturday, at 7:30, I'm gonna pick you up from your place.' They both laughed, seeing as 'his place' was literally ten steps from Steve's place. 

'It's a date.'

\---------------

‘Natasha please help me.’ Steve was on the phone with Nat, after staring at his closet for the past twenty minutes. ‘I _ may _ have a date tomorrow evening and I _ may _have absolutely nothing to wear.’ he was downright pleading at this point and he wasn’t embarrassed at all. He needed this. 

‘_ Hold on a minute. You have a date! And you haven’t told us!’ _ her screaming voice came in the speaker. Steve held his phone away from his ear until she was done. ‘ _ Okay, I’m done. I’m coming as soon as I can. Be there in half an hour.’ _ Classic Natasha.

Exactly thirty minutes after that phone call (witch) Natasha was marching into his apartment like it was hers. ‘I’m asking again, from where did you even get a key?’ sighed Steve, but with no real anger or annoyance. She was welcome whenever she wanted. ‘A lady never tells her secrets. Seriously, have you learned nothing from me?’ They both went straight to Steve’s closet and he winced. He wasn’t embarrassed by Natasha exactly, but he did wish he cleaned up a bit before she came. 

‘A date, huh? Okay, I need details. Is the place fancy? A restaurant I assume? So some nice pants, a shirt and a jacket. And for the love of God, please don’t go with your sneakers.’ Steve gave her his best bitch face. ‘ I’m not an idiot, Nat, of course I won’t.’

She smirked and looked through his clothes. After a couple of minutes she came out with a pair of dark slim fit jeans, a white shirt and a deep blue blazer. ‘Who knew you actually have nice clothes. If you only knew how to combine and use them you would be unstoppable.’ He laughed, but he was already imagining himself with this outfit in front of Tony’s door. 

‘So try it and tell me what you think. Actually, you don’t have to I already know it’s amazing.’ 

‘You know what, Natasha-’ but she was already out of the room before he finished. He put on what she gave him and when he looked in the mirror he actually liked what he was [ seeing ](http://www.starstyleman.com/wp-content/uploads/chris-evans/4982.jpg). Objectively Steve knew he was a handsome guy, enough people have told him that, but he still saw himself like the scrawny little guy he was before puberty hit him like a train. But now he could really say he felt handsome. He felt good. 

‘Soo, what do you think?’ he walked to Natasha and did a pose. ‘Am I sexy’ 

‘Extremely’ she was eating something she had found in Steve’s fridge and she still managed to look like a professional. Nat turned to him, now ready to investigate. ‘Who is the date with? Do I know them? A boy, a girl? Oh my God, is it Jeremy from work. Cause let me tell you I once saw him checking out Jane’s ass when she was wearing this tight dress. I’m advising you not to go on a date with Jeremy.’ 

‘Stop, stop, enough. You don’t know them personally. It’s a he. No, he isn’t Jeremy from work and yes I saw that too.’ Over the years he’d learned that just answering all of Nat’s questions is better than ignoring them. She was still looking at him. ‘Well? Who is he then?’

‘Tony.’ 

‘The neighbour Tony? The one you had a crush on? Well, that was unexpected. Good job, Steve.’ the redhead was smiling and she really did look proud. It was rare for Steve to go on dates, especially with people he _ actually _liked and this was a step forward for him.’Where are you taking him? I bet it’s somewhere fancy. Ugh, I just know it.’

‘Oh,shush. Yeah it’s this fancy italian restaurant four blocks from here and I thought it’d be a good place for a first date.’ Natasha was still smiling, but her eyes had turned a little more serious. ‘You sure you can manage that? I mean no offence, but you don’t usually eat in _ these _restaurants.’

Steve flushed a little, but nodded. ‘Yeah, I’ll be fine, don’t worry.’

‘I can’t do that. You know I always worry about you.’ she smiled this soft, sweet and _ real _ smile. Don’t get him wrong Natasha really was a sweet person once you get to know her, but even then she remained a little closed off, like she was scared of people knowing who she really was. But there were little beams of light, these little windows, when you could see her. _ Her. _And, well, Steve just loved that. He hugged her and said ‘I know. Thank you.’ 

‘Welcome, Rogers.’ 

\-----------------

It was 7:25 and Steve might be panicking a little. He was standing in front of the mirror and imagining all the ways this date could go. Some were good, but the bad ones were really bad. He would do something wrong. He wasn’t fit for this. Tony was too good for him. He was rich, he was smart and he was handsome. And Steve was….not that. Not any of that. Shit, shit, shit. _ Suck it up, Rogers. It’s just a date. You’ll get through this. It’s gonna be great. _

_Yeah, you say that now. Wait until we actually go out. _

What was he doing? He wasn’t really sure but he was mostly certain that he was losing his mind. Steve looked at the flowers he got for Tony. Carnations. He had always thought they look really pretty and he hoped Tony will like them. The blond looked at the clock and saw it was almost 7:30 and took a big breath. Now or never. He left the apartment and headed to Tony’s.

When Tony opened the door Steve was left frozen in his place. The mechanic was wearing a silver suit with a striped blue tie. He looked [ breathtaking ](https://oldalfredbramsen.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/skc3a6rmbillede-2013-01-10-kl-19-53-41.png). He felt a little stupid just standing there, but he couldn’t do a lot more at the moment. Thankfully Tony seemed just as frozen as Steve felt. He cleared his throat and said ‘You look amazing.’

Steve’s eyebrows shot up. He didn’t know _ he _ was the reason for Tony’s shock. Sure, he looked _ kind of _good in this outfit, but he didn’t expect it to have such effect on Tony. ‘Not as much as you. Hey’

‘Hey, Steve.’ Tony smiled and his eyes crinkled. ‘Well, shall we?’

‘Wait a second’ Steve gave Tony the flowers, heart beating, hoping that he would like them. _ Please. _‘These are for you.’ He was blushing, but that seemed to be a common thing he did around Tony, so he didn’t pay it much attention. The brown haired man looked at the flowers for so long, Steve thought something had gone terribly wrong. ‘Are they really?’ the voice was so quiet and soft and at first Steve thought he misheard. 

‘Of course. That’s what I said.’ he chuckled, but he was starting to feel a little scared. He had maybe gotten it wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong. But then Tony hugged him and the warmth that spread through Steve at this moment was enough to pay for the fear felt not two seconds ago. 

‘Thanks, Steve. I love them’ he left for a second to put the flowers in water and when he came back the smile on his face was 5 times bigger than the one he was wearing at first.

‘Now we can go.’ Steve held out his hand for Tony and together they headed to the elevator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guysss! Whats up? Hope you like this chapter and if you did (here it comes) pleaseeee leave kudos and comments they mean so much to me and motivate me to post more often! Next chapter is the actual date and oh boy it's gonna be a wild ride.


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